Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had a meeting on the sidelines of the 22nd Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum where they discussed the growing economic cooperation between their countries, as well as their shared interest in education and space exploration.
About half-way through his remarks before their meeting, President Tokayev said to Putin, “I won’t hide the fact that I have been receiving numerous messages—and I have already informed you about them over the phone—from Europe and the United States regarding the current state of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia….”
“This is simply my humble opinion, since so many people have been approaching me on this matter: perhaps this conflict should be frozen, and the parties should return to the ‘Istanbul Formula 2.0,’ given the significant progress that was achieved there. Then, naturally, with security guarantees from the major powers, including Russia, it would be possible to move toward the long-awaited peace.”
Tokayev chose his words carefully, not taking the side of Kiev or its sponsors. He prefaced his proposal by saying, “I also know and believe that you [Putin] demonstrated the utmost diplomatic flexibility during the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska”—last summer’s summit where a Trump-Putin understanding was achieved, which Kiev, the UK, and the EU subsequently sabotaged and Trump backed away from. By the “Istanbul Formula,” Tokayev evidently meant the spring 2022 Russia-Ukraine settlement agreement, which the UK’s then-PM Boris Johnson pressured Kiev to abandon. Tokayev said he was grieved by the slaughter of two “fraternal peoples” —Russians and Ukrainians.
